Oh dear! We slept in again, keeping our hosts waiting for breakfast. We headed to the Wandlebury Country Space where there is an Iron Age hill fort and ring ditch in 140 acres of parkland.
Vignettes:
Ponderings, Pics, Poems from my life
Friday, May 30, 2025
All Agog about Gog Magog
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Wetlands Immersion
After a disturbed night of Muntjac barking, we emerged bleary eyed, but ready for another wetland adventure. The weather looked okay-ish, with "only" a 25% chance of rain as we headed for Ouse (pronounced ooze) Fen, about 30 minutes away in Over (yes, that's the town name).
We hadn't got far along the trail when it started raining, and this being an open wetland, there were few trees within walking distance to give us cover, so we crouched on gravel behind a wooden barrier at the lookout point.
I could swear these 2 guys were following me around - they keep popping up wherever I go!
Comparative Nostalgia
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Rain and Roundabouts
After negotiating a series of traffic roundabouts along the route (par for the course in England), we arrived at the Fulbourn Fen Nature Reserve to see the orchids in bloom.
What an amazing sight, that only really manifests after you've been walking nonchalantly through buttercups for a while, only to look more closely and find out the orchids are everywhere. How on earth could one miss these exquisite beauties?
I couldn't resist taking a picture of this tree - I don't think I have to say exactly what I thought of when I saw it, as I'm sure it's blatantly obvious, but then it could just be my weird imagination. Maybe I'm just sick ... What do you see?
The onset of rain coincided pretty closely with our predetermined departure time when we had to head to The Bridge pub in Cambridge for lunch. Their accommodations for my soy allergy were much appreciated - our server said she'd bring me an allergy tablet, which made us laugh as we realized she meant the special allergen menu on a Tablet, not a tablet you swallow. I had a most delicious meal that was followed by a sumptuous dessert - sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice cream (must be my new fave dessert). Man! I wish I could have a lot more of that. My main dish came with chips and onion rings - this is how servings ought to be: 3 onion rings, not a plateful, and about a handful of chips.
Before returning home, CHT stopped to show us the British experience of a garden center - that was the first time I think I've ever seen the British out-Americanize commercial America - chairs, clothes, candles, BBQs, pies, shoes, children's toys as well as all plant varieties and accessories imaginable qualified as gardening material.
Back home, we waited till the rain stopped before going on an evening stroll - we saw a muntjac (barking deer), and stopped in on an old church.
A superb dinner of special cheeses, cold cuts and sides rounded off a lovely day as we sat round the table sharing childhood memories.